New business for the Illinois Open Meetings ActBy Mark E. WojcikHuman and Civil Rights, April 2002The purpose of the Illinois Open Meetings Act is to give citizens advance notice of all meetings at which any business of a public body is discussed or acted upon in any way.
When are an employer’s “legitimate expectations” pretextual?By Mark E. WojcikHuman and Civil Rights, April 2002To establish a prima facie case of employment discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an employee must prove four things:
Where have all the liberals gone? Have they been tribed?By Thomas W. SimonHuman and Civil Rights, April 2002Politics and debate go together. Yet, despite the many political decisions made and actions taken in response to the events of September 11th, they have generated relatively little debate.
Adjudicating the government use of racial slurs—the “Redskins” debateBy Matthew W. BeaudetHuman and Civil Rights, January 2002The "Redskins" debate being waged both Nationally and here in the State of Illinois has been mistakenly viewed as part and parcel of the general debate involving the use of Native American-based names, symbols and mascots.
Illinois Native American Bar challenges racial school sports name of “redskins”By Richard L. HutchisonHuman and Civil Rights, January 2002In the litigation Mathew Beaudet refers to in the last paragraph of his article, the Illinois Native American Bar Association filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Huntley Illinois High and Middle School.
In this issueHuman and Civil Rights, January 2002We begin with an apology to all for this belated first issue. We are working to get back on track in order to meet our annual newsletter obligations and your patience is appreciated.
AIDA attempts to show HBO who’s “boss”By Gabriella MorettiHuman and Civil Rights, June 2001AIDA (American Italian Defense Association) isn't singing the praises of the critically acclaimed HBO mob drama The Sopranos, which has become a pop-culture phenomenon.
From the outgoing chairBy Michael F. O’BrienHuman and Civil Rights, June 2001The review of proposed legislation affecting Human Rights has historically been a primary function of this section council.
The ADA and state employeesBy Mary Lee LeahyHuman and Civil Rights, May 2001On February 21, 2001, the United States Supreme Court dealt state employees another blow.
From the chairBy Michael F. O’BrienHuman and Civil Rights, May 2001Internet technology has vastly enhanced the Human Rights Section Council's legislative review process.
Is Executive Order 11246 still valid?By Douglas A. DarchHuman and Civil Rights, May 2001In 1965 then-President Johnson issued Executive Order 11246. This Executive Order required government contractors to meet certain affirmative action obligations.
The source of Native American rights in IllinoisBy Matthew W. BeaudetHuman and Civil Rights, May 2001It was a great honor to be invited to the ISBA's Individual Rights & Responsibilities Section Council's mid-year meeting last month.
U.S. Supreme Court holds state employees cannot sue for money damages under the ADABy Brian M. StolzenbachHuman and Civil Rights, May 2001In its latest Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity case, the United States Supreme Court held that individual employees may not sue their state employers for money damages under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Calling all government attorneysHuman and Civil Rights, January 2001The ISBA's Standing Committee on Government Lawyers wants to include you in its constituency. Historically, neither the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission nor the Illinois State Bar Association has maintained data with respect to those attorneys engaged in government practice.
Law Ed SeriesproposalHuman and Civil Rights, January 2001Public records have long been available to people with both the patience to wait in long lines and the means to pay for duplication.
Memorandum: jury verdict in job-bias testers caseBy Douglas A. DarchHuman and Civil Rights, January 2001The use of job-bias testers was dealt a major set-back this September when a federal jury in Chicago returned a verdict for the employer in the first testers case to proceed to trial, Kyles v. J K Guardian Security Services.
Dead letter of the lawBy James SternHuman and Civil Rights, October 2000"We have been unable to perceive that the seizure of a man's private books and papers to be used in evidence against him is substantially different from compelling him to be a witness against himself."
The A, B, and C of an ALJ decision: Gilchrist v. Human Rights Commission, No.1-99-1054, decided March 27, 2000By J.A. SebastianAdministrative Law, July 2000In Gilchrist v. Human Rights Commission, the First District Appellate Court held, sua sponte, that the Illinois Human Rights Commission (the "Commission") exceeded its statutory authority when it (1) entered an order that allowed an administrative law judge ("ALJ") to issue a written decision on a matter that the ALJ had not personally presided over, and (2) accepted, in its entirety, the "recommended order and decision" of that ALJ.
More Illinois’ criminal justice system developmentsBy Patrick J. Hughes, Jr.Human and Civil Rights, June 2000The Task Force reported upon in the February issue of this newsletter and staffed by this Association's Director of Legislative Affairs, James Covington, has issued its findings and recommendations.
Close encounters with a Kosovo crisisBy Thomas W. SimonHuman and Civil Rights, April 2000"You have mail from Slobodan Milosovic." A year ago, I would have hardly noticed the name of the mail forwarded from the previous tenant of my apartment in Slovenia (not to be confused with Slavonia or Slovakia).
More Illinois death penalty developmentsBy Patrick J. Hughes, Jr.Human and Civil Rights, April 2000The February issue of this newsletter reported on recent developments in our State's criminal justice system including two significant death penalty case events: (1) As of January 1, 2000, the creation of the Illinois Capitol Litigation Trust Fund to finance the prosecution and defense of capital trials; and (2) the appointment by the Illinois Supreme Court of a Special Committee on Capital Cases composed of seventeen Illinois judges to study the Illinois death penalty process and that Committee's report and recommendations which are summarized in the February article.
Three developments in Illinois’ criminal justice systemBy Patrick J. Hughes, Jr.Human and Civil Rights, February 2000Although confident that most of you already are informed about them, as one who has long worked in the Illinois Criminal Justice System (on the defense side), I thought some recapitulation of significant events effecting that system would be useful.
Inter-American Court of Human Rights press releaseInternational and Immigration Law, October 1999Four new contentious cases were submitted before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. These cases are the Haniff Hilaire case against the State of Trinidad of Tobago, the Aguilera-LaRosa et al.
No gun, no workBy Douglas A. DarchHuman and Civil Rights, October 1999In a twist on the slogan made popular by the TV show Paladin "Have Gun, Will Travel," the Indianapolis Police Department terminated a police officer with more than 25 years of service because he was barred by a federal statute from carrying a gun.
Second District holds Tort Immunity Act taxes unavailable for prospective equitable remediesBy Michael F. O’BrienHuman and Civil Rights, October 1999Editor's note: Previous editions of this newsletter contained articles entitled "The Tort Immunity Act and judicial taxation" (Oct. 1997, Vol. 24, No. 2) and "Circuit Court rules Tort Immunity Act taxes cannot fund school desegregation programs" (Jan. 1998, Vol. 24, No. 3) describing Rockford's court-ordered school desegregation taxes.
Nondelegation doctrine makes comebackBy Douglas A. DarchHuman and Civil Rights, August 1999The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently had the opportunity to dust off one of those little used and often forgotten constitutional law principles. In American Trucking Associations v. U.S. E.P.A., 175 F.3d 1027 (D.C. Cir. 1999), the court of appeals struck down several national ambient air quality standards issued by the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA").
Lawyer to Lawyer NetworkInternational and Immigration Law, July 1999The New York based Lawyers Committee for Human Rights maintains a program to aid persecuted attorneys throughout the world with a mailing campaign by lawyers in bar associations around the world directly to the persecuting governments and government officials.
Lawyer to Lawyer NetworkInternational and Immigration Law, June 1999The New York based Lawyers Committee for Human Rights maintains a program to aid persecuted attorneys throughout the world with a mailing campaign by lawyers in bar associations around the world directly to the persecuting governments and government officials.